13 April, 2016

The Spirit of Collective Legacy



India was the motherland of our race, and Sanskrit the mother of Europe's languages: she was the mother of our philosophy; mother, through the Arabs, of much of our mathematics; mother, through the Buddha, of the ideals embodied in Christianity; mother, through the village community, of self-government and democracy. Mother India is in many ways the mother of us all                            – Will Durant, American Historian

‘Freedom from fear is the freedom, I claim for you my  motherland!’  was  the  earnest  zeal  of  Gurudev Rabindranath Thakur. This yearning for Bharat being a  ‘Motherland’  is  not  a  modern  phenomenon  but flowing down from the spirit of  Vedas and  Ramayan.

Many foreign scholars like Will Durant also considered  it  as  the  cradle  of  civilisation.  This  is  possible not just because it is one of the oldest living civilisations, but because it has provided with the life based on  the  principle  of  ‘spiritual  democracy’  where everyone  is  allowed  to  find  his  or  her  own  path  to reach to the Supreme Divine. It is hailed as a motherland  not  just  because  it  has  allowed  diversity  of faiths  to  originate  and  flourish  but  also  connecting the  geographical  and  cultural  diversities  in  an  integral  whole.  This  is  the  land  where  all  aggressions ended  in  assimilation.  But  most  importantly,  the ethos  of  this  nation  can  be  considered  as  the Motherland  because  of  the  children  who  tried  to serve this society and people with the spirit of being a  family  based  on  human  interests  rather  than parochial  ones. And  feather  in  the  cap  in  this  tradition  of  devout  children  is  Dr  Babasaheb  Bhimrao Ambedkar.

It  is  unfortunate  that  the  people  who  thrive  on  a foreign,  divisive  and  violent  ideology,  conveniently trying to appropriate the legacy of Dr Ambedkar, forgetting  the  fact  that  it  was  Babasaheb  who  revived the  reformist  zeal  of  our  ancient  civilisation  in  the modern  era,  along  with  Dr  Hedgewar.  The  people, who  considered  him  as  the  most  ‘outstanding  bourgeois revolutionary democrat’ in his lifetime, are trying  to  convert  him  into  another  divisive  figure  for political  ends.  On  the  other  hand,  a  more  sinister attempt  is  being  made  by  the  people  who  were responsible  for  the  Partition  of  this  motherland,  to forge  an  alliance  with  some  Ambedkarite  groups.

While  dealing  with  both  these  forces  we  have  to remind  them  that  though  Babasheb  criticised  and denounced the rotten customs of Hinduism, when he had  to  find  an  alternative  path,  instead  of  going  for foreign  originated  Semitic  religions  or  divisive  ideologies,  he  preferred  the  path  of  Buddha,  simply because  he  was  aware  of  the  cultural  spirit  of  his Motherland.

It  was  not  a  coincidence  that  along  with  justice, liberty and equality, fraternity was the most cardinal belief in Ambedkar’s constitutionalism. Unless there is  this  spirit  of  brotherhood,  the  desired  results  of Constitution  can  not  be  achieved  was  his  firm  conviction. While devising the instrument of reservation on the basis of caste also, his main goal was to avoid the  feeling  of  alienation  and  separation  on  the  basis of  caste.  To  ascertain  the  social  and  economic democracy,  he  was  well  aware  of  the  prerequisite, the  core  cultural  principle  of  this  land  that  is ‘Spiritual  Democracy’,  and  therefore,  the  temple entry  movement  and  the  reformist  path  of  Buddha was carried forward.

When  heinous  attempts  are  being  made  to  combine Ambedkar  with  Marx  or  to  limit  his  leadership to a caste group, there is a need to develop a spirit of consensual legacy. There is a need to implement the spirit of reservation more vigorously and genuinely, beyond  short  term  political  considerations,  so  that we  can  attain  the  social  equality  and  fraternity expected  by  Babasaheb  as  early  as  possible.  From Vedas to  the  Modern  Constitutionalism  propounded by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, is our collective legacy, it  is  the  heritage  of  this  Motherland. As children of this revered tradition, it is our duty not only to cherish but to nurture this legacy.

@PrafullaKetkar

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